Category: 7 Habits Class

“Sow a thought, and you reap an action; sow and action, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”        

  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

 ‘’WE CAN’T CHANGE THE FRUIT WITHOUT CHANGING THE ROOT’’                                                                                                      – Stephen Covey

The most important aspect of nurturing a tree is to water the roots. Similarly, cultivating good habits is the most important aspect of nurturing one-self. If we want to excel in life, we need to track our habits. Stephen Covey’s ‘7 habits of highly effective people’ is a great guide to inculcating positive habits, thereby eliminating the negative ones. This is exactly what the Life class was all about; nurturing the roots of our character by incorporating positive and life changing habits.

The life classes were very thought provoking and revealed various aspects of life that I need to work on. I just didn’t realize when the life class journey culminated. It has really helped me to become self-confident. The ‘Death Activity’ taught us the importance of time by focusing on the activity which has the highest priority. A quote by Mahatma Gandhi is along the same lines – “ Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.“ I learnt how to be more proactive by managing my schedule in a way that we always are mostly in the ideal quadrant i.e. the 2nd quadrant (not urgent and important). The Eisenhower Matrix, also referred to as the Urgent-Important Matrix, is practically helping me in prioritizing the tasks at hand.

“We don’t have to be smarter than the rest; we have to be more disciplined than the rest.” -Warren Buffett

Self discipline and self mastery is a prerequisite for building healthy relationships with others. Stephen Covey calls this the habit of ‘personal management’. This is about organising and implementing activities in line with the goals outlined in habit 2. Stephen Covey says that habit 2 (At the beginning of any activity, keeping the end goal in mind) comes first, while habit 3 (Prioritization) comes second. Let me share an example wherein I tried to incorporate these habits to manage my time. The end goal was clear to me(habit 2), however that wasn’t enough to make it happen. Dreaming about it was never going to make it a reality because there is no substitute for hard work. I started maintaining a ‘To do list’ on a weekly basis outlining the activities and their priorities. The key point is that I learnt to be persistent and not give up when there are failures or setbacks.

The philosophy of EBA (Emotional Bank Account) was something that I came across for the first time.I can clearly envision the power of this philosophy because it can improve one’s relationship with others, which is a very difficult thing to do.

The habit on which I need to work upon the most is ‘Sharpen the saw’ which is the habit of self renewal. Covey divides this habit into four components – the spiritual, mental, physical and the social/emotional. It encompasses all the other habits and encourages and enables them to grow. We cannot achieve success in our lives if we are not nurturing the four parts.

In a nutshell, a life class has the potency to change a person’s approach towards life. It has helped me to become a better individual; a person who listens empathetically and who acts proactively.

 

In this daily hustle bustle of making a living, we have forgotten to live the life for which we are doing all this. Life class gave us a chance to jell up with other members from FS family, peep into their life. We tried to understand the different perspectives and the ways they look upon life in their own ways.

It changed our outlook on life in a better way. The journey of life class had made a paradigm shift in our thoughts beliefs and the way to see the world. All those tense sessions which taught to begin with the end in mind gave us the concept of looking at the big picture in life. Fun team games in life class made us realize the importance of health and synergy with the team members.

Importance of win-win concept, which we usually hear a lot nowadays, in leading a peaceful life was understood through rigorous discussions and case studies.

A lot of apprehension, a lot of expectations, a lot of craziness and a lot of memories.

 

The first life class introduced us to the world of deep understanding about how people are, how do they feel, how do they respond.

I to we – we to us.

The bond was formed- the respect was initialized.

Stephen Covey- The Seven habit of effective people

We the group of not so effective individual started our journey to the self realization and towards the common and yet individual goal of becoming the best as a person and doing the best in what we do.

The book unraveled section by section page by page- stimulating various feeling and emotions, invoking great inner turmoil, contemplation, inquiring, leading to  self realization.

Step 1- The first lesson learnt- Be proactive

Taking the responsibility of our own action. We knew all along and yet started following thence.

Being ready and taking care of each detail to achieve the perfection became our common goal and together we learnt the how to be proactive.

Step 2- The Second lesson learnt- Begin with end in mind

All running towards something but towards no destination, the lost souls. That’s how we were, no destination , no goals to achieve, no plan , no vision, no thought. By sharing the experiences and self realisation we found the beautiful boulevard directing us towards our destination and goals.

Step 3- The Third lesson learnt- Put first thing first

Not knowing the destination we wander around doing so much but actually doing nothing. No aim, no goals can be achieved without organizing, without completing what is most important and then what next is to be done. With this new weapon we the warriors entered the battlefield of life. Conquering the world with dedication and sincerity.

Step 4-The Fourth Lesson learnt – Think Win Win

Battle cannot be fought and won alone. Its group effort. Each mind, each strategy, each perspective, each thought counts. Together we grow, together we learn, together we flourish. Striking the perfect balance is the key when working in groups. Think win win where no one loses and all win.

Step 5- The Fifth Lesson Learnt- Seek first to understand then be understood.

Pehle aap. When we give a complete attention and good ear to someone we earn respect. That’s the way life works. Knowing this and respecting others first we reciprocate the same feeling. Hence not only succeed relationships but in life.

Step 6- The Sixth lesson learnt- Synergize

We the unique souls, We the unique individuals. So different yet bound to be together. Co- existing,  co- surviving, co-working, together we strive ahead together we prosper. How well do we gel with each other,  working over weaknesses and strengthening the potentials. That’s how we moved ahead and learnt to be more accommodating and respecting each other differences.

Step 7- The Seventh Lesson learnt- Sharpen the Saw

Here we come. The New Group of people. We are proactive, We begin with end in mind, We put first thing first, We think win win, We seek first to understand and then be understood, We synergise and We sharpen our saw. How do we do that? We find our own element that soothes us, fill us with vigour and energy. That unleashes all the potential and brings the best out. The need to sharpen our saw is vital if want to be never tiring and ever moving ahead.

A heartfelt Gratitude to the everyone who helped us in this journey of self realization and to metamorphose.

 

Yasmin & Chaahat

Since from last 8 years of teaching I experienced peolple are listen to reply.Here things get chancge. Everyone willingly listen to Understand. In life classes I understand all three constants in life…change,choice and principles. I learn time management through four quadrants. Through circle of influence and circle of concern I understand what I suppose to do. I commemorate my school day where I did death exercise earlier also. In nut shell Life Classes is equal to live classes..Here I would like to thank our both facilitators Kruti ma’am And Tina Ma’am & request that to facilitate us further during next love classes

When a year ago I heard about the life class I was very excited to be a part of it and it turned out to be an amazing journey.

I am very thankful to my facilitators – Mayur Sir and Khushboo ma’am. They were more like friends and they shared their experiences.

Life classes have changed my perspective towards the people I meet. It helped me to understand what is habits that make us and paradigms which break us. I applied the learning of the habit- Begin with end in mind by setting up the goal in my life and prioritize them, I learn about self-awareness and ability to choose how we respond to the other things around us, to determine the response as a proactive decision in our daily life and not a passive reaction. I also learned how to work with my team with synergy, collaboration, and communication skills, and moving from independence to interdependence.

I am really thankful to Fountainhead school for conducting such type of classes.

Thank You…!

My journey for working on myself started on 29th May 2018, through my journey at FS which started on 5th Feb 2018. Within the span of three months, all I heard were the stories of the upcoming life class that I had to be part of. All I knew was that 9 days where you will be taught about “7 habits of highly effective people” Inspired by Stephen Covey.

I never knew that “Being Yourself” is okay. NO need to impress or make everyone Happy. I overcame my paradigm of not being forgiven for my mistake by forgiving myself first. The sessions were designed to have a combination of activities leading to the discussion which help us relate to each habit and how one can inculcate habits in their life to change oneself and be a Better version of oneself by each passing day.

The session helped me with overcoming my paradigms, fear, vulnerability and kinds of negativity I had in me, and filled it will Happiness Shifts, Respecting Perspective, Synergize to have Fun learning, Love yourself to be Loved, Empathize, Thinking Critically and Creatively, Forgiving oneself and others. Talking on my professional front, I learned the skills to Manage my work (Time and Self), Learned Synergizing with my team members to achieve the desired goal and Being Dedicated towards my work. Overall it helped me grow professionally as well as Personally.

“8 HOURS OF 9 DAYS UNLOCKED THE LIFE FOR ME”

‘For once in a lifetime, everyone deserves a Restart button – not for actions but for emotions’. – Richa Shah.

“Life Class. A class about life? How absurd does it sound? Yet how valuable can it be. Ever seen a grown up learning ABCD’s of life? Does something as such exist?”

Things going on my mind round and round on my birthday when I had my very first life class. I was of course excited about such next concept. However, not much happy. Celebrating your birthday with 20 unknown people and with 2 unknown facilitators could be something with least priority in my list. Little did I know how keenly I would be looking forward for rest of my life class sessions just after those few hours.

It was a journey that did not change me but grew me as a person.
‘Acceptance of Oneself’

Can anything be more peaceful than this?

We as humans have flaws, we cry, we get hurt, we hurt others, we hurt ourselves and we spoil everything. But, then we get up, stand, collect those million pieces, frame the broken picture into an abstract image. Far more beautiful and intricate.

Life class’s ‘Death Activity’ was something I connect to the most. It is that one activity which makes me understand the urgency to sharpen my saw, be proactive, understand others, synergizing and doing all that is right in right way.

I would want to thank all members of my Life class, my patient facilitators and the stubborn, naive me to give the new, a bit more learned and happy Me all the wisdom and softness of heart I have gained in these sessions.

I remember when I read this book (7 habits) by Stephen Covey during my training the short stories seemed very interesting, and I wanted to explore more about them. I feel obliged and thankful to Fountainhead School for this opportunity as these values are something that we don’t generally think about, but listening to other people’s life experiences or doing activities with others, made me realize that there are many things in life that we generally treat as casual but are very important. I think there are many things that I would take back to my personal life and have observed myself unconsciously remembering these values in life situations.

It was really a great to having a life class in school . It helps us to know other teachers life journey and their nature . It help so much to create bounding with everyone. Life class helps me to understand the importance of family , because i am not able to give time to family due to my schedule .

I always enjoy every moment of life class .  I would like to thank all the people in the school (leaders, facilitators, staff, peers) who have played a crucial role in my learning and/or organizing this life class for me. It has definitely deepened my knowledge and the way now I look at things now!

 

When I go back and look at the first day of Life Class, almost a year back, I would not say I was not hoping for something to happen. I was actually very hopeful, expecting a change and I do have a reason to it. I have actually seen someone very close to me, grow, change for better, with time, across years, because of these professional development sessions. But then ‘Life’ happened.

Life Class was a learning experience to get back to, each day of my life. It made me realise there is A LOT to LIFE. A lot to experience… A lot to live… A lot to give.. And trust me. It is not easy to put, everything I have learnt, to practice. But it has also given me a strength to hold on.. To never let go.

I am heartily thankful to my facilitators Mrs. Kruti Dholu and Mrs. Tina Bhatt, for being so open and considerate towards all the insights that we shared and share their own experiences at each point of time, which made me realize that Life is not as easy as it is spelled but if you have the metal to deal with it, it can be as smooth as butter.

I would finally like to conclude by quoting William Barclay which says, “There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why.” and Life Classes has immensely helped me ponder upon the WHY.